Model railroad coupler and related mechanism

ABSTRACT

A NOVEL MODEL RAILROAD COUPLER IS PROVIDED, ADAPTED TO BE MADE FOR EQUIPMENT OF ANY SELECTED SCALE, INCLUDING PARTICULARLY THE CURRENTLY POPULAR VERY SMALL SCALE OF 1/160, KNOWN AS N-GUAGE. THE COUPLER INCLUDES THE FEATURES OF AUTOMATIC COUPLING, MAGNETIC UNCOUPLING, AND DELAYED UNCOUPLING. CONVENTIONAL COUPLERS, LACKING THE CAPABILITIES AND ADVANTAGES REFERRED TO, CAN BE CONVERTED INTO OUR IMPROVED COUPLER WITH LITTLE EFFORT, AND THROUGH THE UTILIZATION OF ONLY A FEW, SIMPLE AND INEXPENSIVE SUBSTITUTE PARTS.

c. K. EDWARDS A 3,564,766

MODEL RAILROAD COUPLER AND RELATED MECHANISM v Feb.23, 1 971 3Sheets-Sheet l I"! led March 13, 1969 III/[4% Feb. 23, 1971 c. K.EDWARDS Er AL 3,564,766

MODEL RAILROAD COUPLER AND RELATED MECHANISM Filed March' 13, 1969 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 23, 1971 EDW RDS El-AL 3,564,766

MODEL RAILROAD COUPLER AND RELATED MECHANISM Filed March 13, 1969 3Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,564,766 MODEL RAILROAD COUPLER ANDRELATED MECHANISM Clarence K. Edwards, 835 Morrison St., and Lawrence D.Edwards, 2816 Rosemont Ave., both of Medford,

Oreg. 97501.

Filed Mar. 13, 1969, Ser. No. 806,840 Int. Cl. A6311 19/18 US. Cl. 4623613 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A novel model railroad coupler isprovided, adapted to be made for equipment of any selected scale,including particularly the currently popular very small scale of knownas N-gauge. The coupler includes the features of automatic coupling,magnetic uncoupling, and delayed uncoupling. Conventional couplers,lacking the capabilities andadvantages referred to, can be convertedinto our improved coupler with little effort, and through theutilization of only a few, simple and inexpensive sub stitute parts.

This invention relates to model railroad couplers, and particularly tocouplers adapted for automatic coupling, magnetic uncoupling, anddelayed uncoupling, and practically available for any scale of modelrailroad equipment, including particularly the smallest scale, thecurrent popular N-gauge.

In an earlier filed patent application, Ser. No. 687,083, we havedisclosed and claimed a form of coupler having all the capabilities andadvantages referred to above. This coupler has become so popular thatthere has developed a widespread desire to modify existing modelrailroad equipment. particularly N-gauge equipment, by substituting forthe couplers originally incorporated in that equipment couplers whichcan provide dependable automatic coupling, magnetic uncoupling, anddelayed uncoupling.

The present coupler has been contrived both for use as orginalequipment, and to satisfy those who wish to make over unsatisfactoryexisting equipment. It is a feature of the invention, that the presentcoupler, besides having the capability of use as original equipment torealize all of the advantages referred to, is also capable of beingproduced through the utilization of a well known combined truck anddraft gear housing, together with a few simple and inexpensive parts.

In another form, the draft gear housing, applied directly to a car end,may be utilized in combination with the other parts referred to, toprovide a coupler of the desired kind directly on the car itself.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing forming part of this specification,

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the parts of a combinedwheel-carrying truck and coupler;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembled, combined truck andcoupler;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary View in side elevation of two cars joinedthrough couplers of the kind shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of two cars about to be coupledthrough the thrusting of one of the couplers into engagement with theother;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, showing the couplers interengaged ina somewhat slack condition;

FIG. 6 is a view showing the cars arrested, in a slack condition, at amagnetic uncoupling station, with the knuckles of the slack couplersmoved laterally clear of one another;

'ice

FIG. 7 shows the two couplers after the locomotive has pulled the frontcar forward from the condition of FIG. 6 to clear the couplers of oneanother, and then returned them into engagement at the uncouplingstation, preparatory to pushing the uncoupled car or cars onto a sidingor to some other desired parking location; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view of a modified form of coupler adapted fordirect application to the end of a car.

In the following description, it will be assumed with reference to FIGS.3 to 7 that the locomotive is disposed to pull the cars from left toright, so that the left side of a car or train is toward the top of thesheet and the right side is toward the bottom of the sheet.

In FIG. 1 the several elements which make up the combined truck anddraft gear are shown individually, these elements comprising a combinedwheel-carrying truck and draft gear housing member 10, a headed mountingstud 12, a stabilizer or filler plate 13, a knuckle unit 14, a lip unit16, a compression coil spring 18, a clip 22, and a magnetic couplingactuator 24.

The combined wheel-carrying truck and draft gear housing member 10 andthe headed mounting stud 12 therefor are conventional elements, thoughnot in the particular organization of the present invention. The member10 includes a body portion 26 which is formed with a cylindrical bore 28for the reception of the cylindrical shank 30 of the headed mountingstud 12. The shank 30 of the stud 12 is passed upward through the bore28 and has its upper end fixed by friction, or in any other suitablemanner in a bore (not shown) provided in the floor of the car. The head32 of the stud 12 supports the member 10 with freedom for pivotalmovement about the cylindrical shank 30 of the stud.

The member 10 includes laterally extending arms 34 which carry at theirfree ends forwardly and rearwardly extending bearing arms 36 in whichthe wheel axles 38 and 40 are mounted for rotatively supporting thewheels 42. Each axle has fast upon its ends, wheels '42 which run uponthe track (not shown).

The combined truck and draft gear housing member 10 further includes aspring housing 43 in which a cutout portion or chamber 44 is formed. Thespring housing portion 43 has a solid inner wall 46 from which a springcentering projection 48 extends outward. The outer wall 50 of the cutoutis formed with a slot 51, the walls of which diverge outward.

The member 10, as noted, is of conventional construction, having beendesigned for use with a mechanically operated coupler of restrictedcapabilities. That coupler is not shown herein, but briefly it consistsof a knuckle element having upper and lower sloping outer end wallswhich jointly form a wedge-shaped end, the sloping walls meeting attheir outer extremities to form a dihedral angle whose vertex extendsalong a substantially horizontal, transversely extending line. When twoof these couplers are thrust together, one of them is expected to riseand the other to dip, but since they are made exactly alike the matterof which one rises and which one dips is left to chance. If the vertexlines cross one another at even a very slight angle, no coupling ispossible. For uncoupling, a mechanical lifter is provided at anuncoupling station. No magnetic uncoupling is possible, and no delayeduncoupling is possible. No lateral movements of the parts are involvedin coupling and uncoupling.

The combined truck and draft gear housing member 10* is, however, a veryuseful member, and it can be used with adavntage as part of the improvedcoupler of the present invention, whether provided initially as part ofthe 3 mechanical coupler outlined above or as a part of our improvedcoupler.

In our coupler the kunckle unit 14 and the lip unit '16 cannot rise ordip, but each is adapted to swing laterally under appropriateconditions. The knuckle unit is a single rigid member which comprises aknuckle 52, a carrying shank 54 therefor, and a straight crossbar 56 atthe inner end of the shank. The knuckle 52 terminates in an inturnedretaining hook 57 for preventing accidental uncoupling on curves. Thelip unit 16 is a single rigid member which includes a lip 58, a carryingshank 60 therefore, and a crossbar 62-64 having angularly related arms62' and 64 at the inner end of the shank. Each crossbar has, in linewith the shank body, a spring centering projection 66 which may take theform of a half cone, the two projections 66 being complementary to oneanother and meeting in a common plane.

The spring 18, which is desirably a helical compression coil spring,surrounds the projection 48 at its inner end and projections 66 at itsouter end. The tendency of the spring is to keep both arms of thecrossbars 56 and the arm 62 of crossbar 62-64 pressed fiat against theouter or slotted wall of the cutout, and to keep the lip 58 in a fixedrelation to the knuckle 52 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Up and down rocking of the lip unit 16 and the knuckle unit 14 should beavoided. Since the superposed shanks are made quite thin so that bothmay be maintained within the field of influence of the spring 18, thefiller or stabilizing plate 13 is desirably provided, for coperatingwith the clip 22 in preventing such movement. The plate 13 is made toextend for substantial distances fore and aft. The clip 22 comprises afiat, relatively broad body part 68, and upstanding arms which consistof lower relatively broad, shouldered portions 70, and upper, narrow,bendable finger portions 72 When assembling the draft gear parts, thecar, with the combined truck and draft gear housing operatively attachedto it by the headed stud 12, is placed upside down. The filler plate 13is then fitted into an outer portion of the cutout, which it is shapedto fit. The inverted knuckle unit 14 and the inverted lip unit 16 arethen put successively into place with the shanks of these unitsextending through the slotted wall 50, and the clip 22 is then insertedwith the broad shouldered portions 70 of the clip bearing against thefiller plate 13 and the finger portions 72 of the clip passed throughnotches 74 of the plate 13 and through slots 76 of the draft gearhousing. The fingers 72 are then upset or clinched by a suitableimplement, such as a screwdriver. The spring 18, suitably compressed, isthen put into place, being retained in place by the member 48 at itsinner end and by the half cones 66 of the crossbars at its outer end.Finally, the uncoupling arm 24 of ferromagnetic material has itssupporting end passed through the slot 78 and fixed in a non-circularbore 80 of the shank 54.

The parts of two opposed couplers are shown in normal condition in FIG.4, with each knuckle 52 and lip 58 defining between them a mouth toonarrow to receive the knuckle of the opposed coupler, but capable ofbeing spread apart when the two couplers are thrust together, and thenresuming their normal relationship as shown in FIG. 5, after the hookportions 57 have cleared one another. In the condition of the couplersshown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the mouths of the couplers are of minimum width,the actuator 24 affixed to the knuckle unit of each coupler being inengagement with one end of the slot 78 of the coupler.

So long as there is no slack between cars, the hooks 57 precludeseparation of the couplers. Slack can, however, be produced at will, asby backing the train or stopping forward movement of the train somewhatabruptly. This will not cause uncoupling anywhere but at an uncouplingstation, because such stopping of the 4 train does not normally, causethe hooks 57 to shift laterally out of line with one another.

When it is desired to uncouple two adjacent cars, however, the train iseither backed to locate the two engaged couplers into an uncouplingstation at which a magnetic uncoupler 82 of Well known construction islocated, or is stopped in a way to produce slack with the couplers atsuch station. The uncoupler provides a north pole at one side of thetrack and a south pole at the opposite side of the track, either ofwhich is capable of attracting a magnetic actuator 24- and swinging it,together with its knuckle unit, in a clockwise direction as the partsare viewed in FIGS. 2, and 4 to 8 inclusive. This swings the hookslaterally clear of one another, at the same time shifting each actuatorfrom one end of the associated slot 78 to the opposite end of the slot.This takes up the available lost motion between the knuckle and theassociated lip, widening the mouth of each coupler to the maximumavailable width, and making the couplers free to separate as shown inFIG. 6. Movement of the couplers clockwise is limited, as shown in FIG.6, by the fact that each lip engages the outer side of the opposedknuckle.

By now operating the locomotive in a forward direction the forwardportion of the train will be separated from the rear portion. As thecouplers at the uncoupling station become disengaged, each, under theinfluence of the uncoupler '82- upon its actuator 24, springs furtherover in a clockwise direction. The coupler that remains at theuncoupling station will remain in this condition, but if the other oneis pulled clear of the uncoupling station, the knuckle and lip of thatcoupler will resume their normal relationship. Whether or not theforward end of the train is pulled forward far enough to produce thisresult is immaterial, because subsequent backing of the locomotive toreturn the moved coupler into the uncoupling station will swing thebacked coupler to an extreme clockwise position as shown in FIG. 7.Thus, the lip of each coupler will be in position to enter, and willenter, the mouth of the opposed coupler. One or both tongues will serveas a pusher for pushing the disconnected car or cars onto a siding, orinto any other desired parking location, and leaving them there. This isthe operation known as delayed uncoupling. As the locomotive is then runforward, the lips pull out of the coupler mouths, permitting therespective couplers to resume the normal positions of FIG. 4, providingthe couplers are on normal track and not at an uncoupling station. -Itis a simple matter, therefore, to pick up the parked car or carswhenever desired.

It has been mentioned that a portion of the arm 64 of the crossbar 62-64is slanted inward, away from the slotted wall of the cutout. Thisshortens the effective fulcrum arm of the cross-bar, bringing thefulcrum point of the arm closer to the center of thrust of the spring18, and thereby reduces the moment exerted by the spring 18 inopposition to the rocking of the knuckle unit 14 by the magneticactuator 24.

Further than that, however, as the knuckle unit 14 and its crossbar 56are rocked clockwise by the actuator 24, the spring 18 is forcedrearward out of contact with the crossbar arm 62, thus removing thespring pressure from that arm. At the same time, there is a tendency toshift the spring 18 laterally into contact with the swept-back portionof the arm 64. This spring pressure tends to turn the crossarm 6264clockwise, thereby facilitating the turning of the lip in unison withthe knuckle 52 after the lost motion provided between the actuator 24and the slotted shank 60 has been taken up. This helps to assure theplacement of the lips in the positions of FIG. 7 after the cars havebeen uncoupled and then brought together at the uncoupling station.

The modified embodiment of FIG. 8 is like the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to7, save that the draft gear housin member a is not a wheel-carryingtruck, but is adapted to be secured, as by a screw 84, directly to theunderside of the car body. Units of this kind can be secured to bothends of any car, including a locomotive. Corresponding parts haveaccordingly been designated by corresponding reference numerals, withthe postscript a added in each instance, and no further detaileddescription will be given.

We have described what we believe to be the best embodiments of ourinvention. We do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodimentsshown.

We claim:

1. A coupler for model railroad cars adapted to be applied in aprescribed fashion at an end of a car so that when two cars so equippedare pushed together end to end, the opposed couplers Will respond byspreading laterally and then interlocking, and will normally remaininterlocked, such coupler comprising, in combination.

(a) a housing formed with a cutout which has a slotted or dividedvertical outer wall,

(b) a pair of longitudinally extending, superposed shanks, each of whichextends from within the housing outward through the slotted outer wall,and each of which has a crossbar disposed at the inner side of said wallwith each crossbar having an outer face which normally bears extensivelyagainst such wall,

(c) spring means disposed in the cutout and bearing yieldingly againstintermediate portions of the inner faces of both crossbars, for normallymaintaining substantial portions of both crossbars yieldingly in evenengagement with the slotted wall of the cutout and both shanks inprescribed angular positions,

((1) a C-shaped knuckle unitary with one of the shanks at the outer endthereof, adapted to interlock with the knuckle of another like coupler,and

(e) a keeper lip unitary with the outer end of the second shank anddisposed opposite the knuckle, and spaced from the knuckle by apredetermined amount in the normal relation of the shanks to provide aspreadable mouth for receiving and retaining in interlocking relationthe knuckle of a cooperating coupler.

2. A coupler for model railroad cars as set forth in claim 1 in whichthe housing is composed of a partial housing member and a self-retainingclosure member cooperative with the partial housing member for enclosingand confining the crossbars and a part, at least, of the spring meanswithin the cutout.

3. A coupler as set forth in claim 1 in which the knuckle carrying shankis equipped with a magnetic actuator, adapted, when slack is providedbetween coupled cars at a magnetic uncoupling station, to shift theknuckle laterally to an uncoupling position.

4. A coupler as set forth in claim 1 in which the knuckle includes anouter finger portion which bounds and partially defines a recess havinga side access opening for receiving the finger portion of a likeopposing knuckle, the side recess opening having a breadth greater thanthe thickness of such finger portion, and in which the finger portionterminates in an inwardly directed, coupling maintaining hook portion,the recess and the side opening having sufficient depth for the hooks ofengaged identical couplers to clear one another longitudinally when thelocomotive is backed or is stopped in a manner to produce slack.

5. A coupler as set forth in claim 1 in which an uncoupling actuator isprovided which forms a fixed, unitary part of the knuckle shank andextends downward therefrom, and the lip shank is formed with a slot oflimited length through which the uncoupling actuator extends, so thatafter the knuckle, in moving toward uncoupling position, has widened thecoupler mouth a predetermined amount, further widening of the mouth ispositively prevented and the lip is compelled to move in unison with theknuckle during any further movement of the knuckle in the samedirection.

6. A coupler pair of the kind set forth in claim 5 in which movements ofthe knuckles of two engaged couplers toward uncoupling positions at anuncoup ing station are limited in each instance by the engagement of aknuckle with the lip of the opposed coupler, after the available lostmotion between a knuckle and lip has been exhausted, but in which thereis much greater freedom of movement of a knuckle, in unison with itsassociated lip, in the uncoupling direction after the couplers have beenseparated, whereby the lips may be forced at an uncoupling station tomove over into line with the opposed coupler mouths for use as pushersduring delayed uncoupling.

7. A coupler pair as set forth in claim 6 in which the uncouplingactuators are composed of ferromagnetic material and are responsive tomagnetic means at an uncoupling station for yieldingly urging theactuators in uncoupling directions, the construction and arrangementbeing such that the couplers may be yieldingly swung limited distancesto permit separation of the cars, and may, after separation of the cars,be swung much farther in the uncoupling directions, by the magneticmeans at the uncoupling station, to align each lip with the mouth of theopposed coupler for use as a pusher 8. A coupler as set forth in claim 1in which the spring means consists of a compression coil spring andspring positioning projections are provided on the inner wall of thecutout and on the inner walls of both crossbars for retaining thecrossbars in a desired relation to one another and the spring in adesired relation to the cutout.

9. A coupler as set forth in claim 8 in which the crossbar of theknuckle carrying shank has extensive coplanar arms of equal length, oneserving as a fulcrum bearing arm and the other solely as a springcompressing arm, and the crossbar of the lip bearing shank having alsoan extensive spring compressing arm but a much shorter effective fulcrumbearing arm for reducing the resistance of the lip bearing shank torocking movement in the uncoupling direction.

10. A coupler as set forth in claim 9 in which the end portion of thefulcrum bearing arm of the lip carrying shank which lies outward beyondthe fulcrum is made to extend obliquely inward, whereby the spring,compressed and displaced laterally by the effect of the magneticuncoupler, is caused to bear against the obliquely extending portion ofsaid arm and to assist the lip carrying shank in following the rockingmovement of the knuckle carrying shank.

11. A coupler as set forth in claim 1 in which the housing includesmeans for substantially preventing up and down rocking of the shanks.

12. A coupler as set forth in claim 1 in which the car includes awheel-carrying truck, mounted on the car for pivoting about a verticalaxis, and the partial housing is a unitary part of said truck.

13. A coupler as set forth in claim 1 which further includes means forattaching the partial housing member of the coupler in fixed relation tothe end of the car.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/ 1967 Zetsche 46--2l6 8/1968Lingard 46-216 US. Cl. X.R. 46-213; 213

